1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical operation instrument whose operation section, located at the proximal end of an insertion section, is gripped by the operator and whose treatment section, located at the distal end of the insertion section, is rotated and opened/closed, for surgical operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,436, a surgical operation instrument comprises a shaft, an openable/closable treatment section located at the distal end of the shaft, and a handle located at the proximal end of the shaft and including a grip.
The grip is rotatably supported by the shaft. The grip is rotatable around two axes perpendicular to each other. The operator takes hold of the grip and rotates it around both the volar flexion axis of the wrist and the dorsal flexion axis of the wrist, without changing the position of the shaft.
The operator moves his or her wrist up and down or from side to side while holding the grip. In response to this, the treatment section can be rotated or opened/closed with no need to change the direction of the shaft.
The surgical operation instrument disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,436 has problems in that the distance to the finger engagement portion is inevitably changed whenever the grip is held and the wrist is moved. Since the degree of finger engagement varies accordingly, the surgical operation instrument is not very easy to operate.
In the meantime, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,608 discloses an instrument comprising a shaft, an openable/closable treatment section located at the distal end of the shaft, and a handle located at the proximal end of the shaft. The treatment section can be opened or closed, and is also designed to rotate its two elements in the same plane in response to an operation of the handle.
Although the surgical operation instrument of U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,608 allows a pair of treatment elements to rotate in the same plate in response to an operation of the handle, the range of rotation is narrow. Hence, suture and ligature cannot be executed with high efficiency.
An object of the present invention is to provide a surgical operation instrument in which the treatment section can be changed in direction by rotating the handle, without the insertion section being changed in direction, and which enables easy suture and ligature of tissues.